1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to locks for cabinet doors or drawers. More specifically, the invention relates to apparatus and methods for cover plates that can be used on a cabinet door or drawer lock having different installation positions.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide variety of cabinet door and drawer locks are currently available in this well developed art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,774 to Martin entitled “Self-Aligning Re-Keyable Pin Tumbler Cabinet Door Lock” issued May 1, 1990, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention illustrates one example of an typical cabinet door and drawer lock. Such locks may have a substantially rectangular bolt housing in which resides a retractable dead bolt or latch bolt. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,652 to Martin. A cylinder and plug assembly conventionally resides in a cylindrical cylinder and plug assembly housing which itself extends forwardly from the bolt housing. The bolt housing is typically mounted to the back side of a cabinet door or drawer, while the cylinder and plug assembly housing protrudes through a circular aperture in the cabinet door or drawer. The bolt is retracted or extended by inserting a key into the cylinder and plug assembly and rotating the key. A strike plate may be provided on an opposing cabinet door or adjacent drawer jamb in the case of a cabinet drawer.
A cover plate may be used in conjunction with the bolt housing to retain the lock against the back side of the cabinet door or drawer and to provide an aesthetically pleasing, flush appearance for the front of the cylinder and plug assembly with respect to the outside of the cabinet door or drawer. The cover plate is positioned on the front side of a cabinet door or drawer, placed in registration with the bolt housing and the cylinder and plug assembly housing, and usually affixed to the bolt housing with screws or the like. By being in registration with the cylinder and plug assembly housing, the cover plate covers the surface area adjacent to the circular aperture in the cabinet door or drawer that receives the cylinder and plug assembly housing. This makes the lock more robust and helps deter thieves from prying apart the lock. By covering the surface area of the cabinet door or drawer adjacent to the cylinder and plug assembly housing, the cover plate also protects the exterior surface of the drawer or cabinet from accidental scratches that could occur should a user cause the key to accidentally slip in an attempt to insert the key within the cylinder and plug assembly. To provide strength and resist key scratches, the cover plate is conventionally made of hardened metal and, to meet aesthetic needs, can be designed in a variety of shapes and sizes. A cover plate of the type described has been offered for sale by the assignee of the invention disclosed herein since 2001 under the model designation “ETS-1.”
Other cabinet door or drawer locks have a dead bolt or latch that can be selectively set to a number of positions to accommodate different types of installment configurations. One example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,737,950 to Martin entitled “Ambidextrous Vertical Inverted Handed Cam Lock” issued on Apr. 14, 1998, also assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In that patented design, a rotatable cam operates a latch. The cam is journaled for rotation with the plug and can be repositioned to accommodate different types of installations. Such locks are advantageous as they can be used to secure a desk drawer with the latch optionally facing upwardly or downwardly, or to secure a cabinet drawer with the latch facing optionally towards the left or the right. Nevertheless, in every configuration the spring loaded pins of the cylinder and plug assembly are advantageously maintained in a vertical orientation.
The cam type lock disclosed in the Martin '950 patent has an exposed bolt and cam mechanism which is easily repositioned without removing the lock body (essentially an externally threaded cylinder and plug assembly) from the cabinet door or drawer application. Cabinet and door locks of the type shown in the Martin '774 patent have separate bolt and cylinder and plug assembly housings. The relative positions of these housings can be different depending on the intended orientation (e.g., right hand, left hand, bolt up, bolt down) of the bolt. Thus, in order for the cover plate to be registrable with both the bolt housing and the cylinder and plug assembly housing, a different cover plate configuration is typically required for each type of installation.
As a result, when a single model lock has a number of different installment orientations, and the relative positioning of the cylinder and plug assembly with respect to the bolt housing also differs depending on the installment orientation, there is a need for a single model cover plate that is registrable with the cabinet door or drawer lock regardless of the position in which the lock is installed.